ROANOMICS

Roanoke College Economics Newsletter Volume 7, Issue 2

tive externality of the business. Our

Scrambled food is really tasty (of course I might be

just a little biased), and our feedback

Still Makin Ba-

has been extremely positive. The at-
mosphere in the restaurant has been
compared to a Parisian caf by many of ...In our wildest
con our guests. We see lots of folks from
the College, including my younger, more dreams, we would
After two and one-half years in busi- handsome, and much more exuberant
ness, Scrambled is going strong and colleagues- Drs. Kassens, Enz, and Nik- never thought it
doing better than ever. My wife, Susan, Khah. While I have no retirement plans
and I, along with our nephew Brett at this point, I know that when I deliver
Crawley, thought a breakfast place in my last lecture, I will have Scrambled as would be as suc-
downtown Roanoke would fill a need a second career. I hope that my former
and be a fun project as well. In our wild- students who have yet to dine with us cessful as it is.
est dreams, we would have never will make it downtown the next time they
thought it would be as successful as it visit Roanoke. In case you are unfamil-
is. Of course, things started out slowly. iar with downtown Roanoke, we are - Garry Fleming
After about six months, however, sales located in the Historic City Market Build-
began to really take off. We have met ing, on the corner of Market Street and
so many new and interesting people in Campbell Avenue. Susan and I hope to
the process, which I would call a posi- see everyone soon.

Issue includes:
Scrambled Still
Makin Bacon

A week in the life of

Jared

Vote for your Favorite

Crook

Word from the editor

Consumer Sentiment
in Virginia

Center for Economic

Freedom

Take a hike
Scrambled was listed in the publication Southern Living as one of the best places for
breakfast in Roanoke, VA! Have you been yet? If not, give it a try.
 32 Market Square SE, Roanoke, VA
Facebook: @scrambledrnk
Instagram: @SCRAMBLEDROANOKE

Dr. Bob continues to get pieces published by the Wall Street Journal.

A recent publications is "The Fed's Mismeasure of Inflation Feb 4,2016

This publication earned Stauffer national TV interviews and mentions by groups such as The Hill and was featured
on the WSJs Facebook page.

***Keep your eye out for more from Dr. Robert Stauffer***
 Research and
Internship Op-
portunities
Internships, research with a
faculty member, or inde-
pendent research are ex-
cellent ways to broaden
your education and
strengthen your resume for
the labor market.

The Economics Program

offers many experiential
opportunities. Additionally
we can help you find oppor-
tunities off-campus during
the summer.

Just recently the College Rising Senior Jared Mercadante

started conversations with
health care providers in the
Roanoke area concerning
research and internship
opportunities for students.
If you are interested in a
research experience or
internship, in economics
here are the steps you
should take:
1) Think about what you
specifically want to do
and create a list of 1-3
things/topics.
2) Talk with Dr. Kassens
about your ideas.
3) Work with Career Ser-
vices to develop a re-
sume.
Student research opportunities
A Week in the
Life of Jared
My name is Jared Mercadante,
and I am heading into my senior
year at Roanoke College where I
am studying economics and phi-
losophy. This summer, as part of
the Charles Koch Institutes Koch
Fellow Program: Policy, I interned
at the Mercatus Center at George
Mason University, the premier uni-
versity Libertarian economic policy
think tank. Although I was a re-
mote employee, I lived in the
Washington, D.C. area so as to be
able to form connections with
scholars and other interns. While
there, I worked for the Study of
American Capitalism department,
which is a group of scholars and
researchers focused on corporate
welfare, barriers to entry, and the
sharing economy. Because of the
departments broad purview, I
worked on projects ranging from
Minor League Baseball stadium
subsidies to Mississippis Certifi-
cate of Need program. This is
what my last week of work looked
like:
Monday: This week, I was work-
ing on two important projects. The
program director, Dr. Matt Mitch-
ell, was invited to testify before
Mississippis Certificate of Need
(CON) board, so I was tasked with
preparing a memo for him, an-
swering questions about the
length of time it takes to a acquire
a CON, the fees associated with it,
and the history of the program,
including important scandals. My
other major project was a policy
brief discussing the Government
Accounting Standards Board
Statement No.77, focusing on the
excellent job done by Birmingham,
Alabama, with the hope of inform-
ing other city and state govern-
ments how best to report infor-
mation on corporate tax abate-
ments. I also managed to squeeze
in a little research time on a pro-
ject for Dr. Kassens.
...want to read more? Go to our
blog !
 The 2017 Fed
Challenge
Team
In Michelle Crooks ab-
sence, Dr. Michael Enz
has agreed to take on the
Fed Challenge Team.

Dr. Enz led Fed Chal-

lenge teams at two other
institutions: Western New
England University and
Framingham State Uni-
Michelle Crook taking the oath of office at the Botetourt County Courthouse in versity
Fincastle, VA.
Currently the 2017 team
is composed of the fol-
lowing students:

From College
munity and she passed away after a
brief 4 month battle with cancer, creat- Blake Chitwood

Classroom to
ing an unplanned vacancy on the school Brandon Croci
board. State law required an appoint-
ment within 45 days. I was approached William Pratt
Public Service: to put my name in the running. Obvi- Anna Holley
ously, I have a passion for teaching and
Vote for your educating. I was selected to fill the re- The competition will again
maining year of the positions term.
take place at Roanoke
Favorite After a few months under my belt, I
College later in the fall
semester. Michelle Crook
made the decision to run in November
Crook 7th election for a full 4 year term. As a
is organizing the event.

lifelong resident of the Buchanan com-

After 11 academic years, I am taking a munity in Botetourt County, I am moti-
self-dubbed unpaid adjunct sabbatical. vated to give our students the best op-
While truly not a sabbatical, it would be portunities available in public education
more appropriate to say I am taking and to represent the families of my
some time off from the classroom to hometown. I will miss learning and col-
embrace a new adventure. Never in a laborating with the Roanoke College
million years did I dream I would hold a students. I proudly pass the Fed Chal-
political office. In January of this year, I lenge torch to Dr. Michael Enz. But, I
was appointed to the Botetourt County am not disappearing from the Fed Chal-
School Board, a non-partisan political lenge scene. I will serve at the Federal
position. The appointment to the school Reserves Regional Coordinator of this
board arose from a unique and sad situ- years competition to be held at Roa-
ation. My voting districts school board noke College, for the second consecu-
member had served in the position for tive year, on October 29, 2017.
19 years. She was beloved by our com-

Word from the Editor:
What a summer! I am happy to say it was a productive
one. Here is a brief rundown:
1) Pedagogy paper submitted to journal: My colleague/
husband and I (Michael Enz) revised an economics
pedagogy paper on using scavenger hunts in the cur-
riculum to promote learning and community.
2) Development/Labor economics paper submitted to
journal: My Rutgers University colleague, Yana Rodg-
ers, and I wrote, edited, and submitted an empirical
paper regarding mothers asset ownership and child
health in Papua New Guinea in record time (for me.)
We started outlining the paper last December and
submitted it to a journal last month. Our intensive use
of spring break and May-June was effective. Perhaps
a technique we will use for our next project. We have
been invited to write a chapter for a book on health
and proximity to health care facilities in Papua New
Guinea. The chapter draft is due in March.
3) Presented paper at the International Health Econom-
ics Association meeting in Boston: The iHEA meeting 7)
is a prestigious health economics conference and I
presented the paper described in #2 in July. This was
my first time presenting at the conference.
Follow my blog kassensmetrics.weebly.com
The 2017 Congress in Boston, MA
4) Revising my econometrics course: After reading an
article by MIT economist Joshua Angrist sent to me by
Dr. Enz I was inspired to make changes to my econo-
metrics course to resolve issues that have long trou-
bled me. I am blogging about the experience here if
you would like to read about the changes, why I am
making them, and how the semester goes. You can
also see all of the course materials on the blog.
5) Set the masters course record at the local Fab 5K:
The Fab 5K is one of the most popular races in the
area and its 21st annual running was August 19th. I
broke the masters (runners 40+ years of age) course
record, previously held by the speedy Bonnie Mac-
Donald, by 30 seconds. I did the race to kick off my
cross country season with that goal in mind. Some-
times things work out! I will race several USATF Mas-
ters National Championship races this fall/winter.
6) Travelled to Oregon to celebrate with husbands fami-
ly: My husband and I married January 13, 2017 in the
Botetourt County Courthouse. We travelled to his
hometown, Oregon City, OR, to celebrate our mar-
riage with his West Coast family and friends.
Met my nephew Fred and sister Sadie: My mother
and sister each got puppies this summer!
Alice Louise Kassens
 Strong economic indi-
cators support the sen-
timent values. Virginia
unemployment remains
low (3.8%). The state
unemployment rate
continues to fall due to
increases in employ-
Virginia (red), US (blue), and US quarterly moving average (black) sentiment ment and the labor
force.

Consumer Sentiment in VA
The May 2017 Virginia Index of Consumer Sentiment is 90.4, an
eight-point slide since August 2016 (the record high) and down
three points since last quarter, but remains above the series average
The May Virginia
(85.9.) Sentiment is below the preliminary national May value of Index of Consumer
97.7. Republicans and Democrats remain divided, particularly about Sentiment is
the future health of the economy. The short-term inflation expecta-
tion in Virginia is 2.2 percent and is slightly lower than the national
value of 2.6 percent. 90.4
The Virginia Index of Consumer Sentiment (VAICS) is 90.4 in
May, down three points since the last quarter, but above the index which is down three
average of 85.9. Sentiment in Virginia is lower than the national points since last
preliminary May value of 97.7, which is just off its decade high hit quarter.
in January 2017 (98.5). Strong economic indicators support the sen-
timent values. Virginia unemployment remains low (3.8%). The The next Virginia
state unemployment rate continues to fall due to increases in em- Consumer Senti-
ployment and the labor force. Non-farm wages increased 1.2% over ment Report will be
the past 12-months while GDP grew 1.5% in the last quarter of
released in late Au-
2016 (annualized rate). The largest contributors to the GDP growth
gust
in Virginia are the professional and business services.
Lecture by Dr.
Chris Coyne to
open the Center
for Economic
Freedom

September 1 at 7:00 pm
Dr. Chris Coyne will give
New Center Promote an environment
of educated discourse and
a lecture The Rule of
Law and Economic De- opens at Roa- discovery
velopment at Home and
Abroad in the Roanoke noke College Explore the role of eco-
College Wortmann Ball- nomic freedom and indi-
room. The Center for Economic Freedom will vidual rights in prosperous
open on September 1 at Roanoke Col-
The lecture will mark the societies
lege. Directed by Dr. Alice Louise Kas-
official opening of the
sens, the mission of the Center is:
Center for Economic
Freedom and President Motivate students to ac-
The role of economic freedom in
Mike Maxey will give tively seek opportunities in
opening remarks. encouraging prosperity and
classically liberal minded
growth is a long-debated princi-
Coyne is a professor at scholarship and service
ple. The mission of the Center for
the Mercatus Center
(GMU) and the author of Economic Freedom at Roanoke
several books including College is to explore this princi- Develop a network of
Doing Bad by Doing ple with the Roanoke College alumni and friends that
Good. remain active in the Cen-
community in a liberal arts set-
The lecture is open to all ting. Through reading, writing, ter for Economic Free-
and no reservations or discussion, and lecture we seek dom
tickets are needed.
to examine the classically liberal
The Center will offer several op-
We look forward to see- knowledge base and develop the
ing you there and kicking
portunities for the Roanoke Col-
critical thinking and communica-
off the new Center for lege community starting with a
tion skills to share findings effec-
Economic Freedom. lecture September 1 at 7 pm in
tively with others.
Read more on Facebook
the Wortmann Ballroom. Contact
@centerforeconomicfreed The goals of the Center are: freedom@roanoke.edu for more
om information.
 Take a hike
Spring Break is a popular time for students to get a
much needed rest from coursework, travel to sun-
soaked beaches, or work 40+ hours to earn enough
money to last the school year. For Spring Break 2017,
Dr. Enz hiked solo from Elk Park, NC to Hot Springs,
NC along the Appalachian Trail. This 120.3 mile
stretch of trail features 31,120 ft. of ascent and 32,680
ft. of descent. The trail is open to the public and is
managed by the National Park Service, USFS, and the
Appalachian Trail Conservancy (our local chapter,
Roanoke ATC, maintains over 120 miles of trail). This
year, hundreds of people started a thru hike at Spring-
er Mountain in early March. A number that certainly
makes that part of the trail rival in consumption. Lucki-
ly for Dr. Enz, he was far enough north of these peo-
ple and enjoyed solitude at all campsites except one,
providing essentially a nonrival consumption experi-
ence.

Student Awards
Several awards are given at the end of each school
OUTSTANDING SENIOR, ECONOMICS
year in the Economics Program. Last April, several
juniors and seniors were recognized for their out- Awarded to a senior for their excellent performance in
standing performances. the economics classroom over their College experience.

DARYL LOWRY SCHOLARSHIP ANDERSON LIDZ

In honor of the late Dr. Lowry, a scholarship to a rising ODE AWARD

senior in the Economics Major.
ODE member with strong academic performance.
WILLIAM PRATT
JARED MERCADANTE
SENIOR SCHOLAR, ECONOMICS
HONORS IN MAJOR
The highest award for graduating seniors in economics,
noting not only their GPA, but also significant research Successfully defended a significant research project to a
and other contributions to the program. committee of College faculty.

RYAN DILL RYAN DILL