I am a Professor of Economics in the Economics Department at Purdue University, and a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research. At Purdue I primarily teach courses in International Economics to undergraduates, regular and executive MBA students, and Ph.D. students. My research has focused on three distinct areas: identifying barriers to trade; testing theories of product differentiation in trade; and measuring the extent and consequences of offshoring. You can find details on each by following the research link at right.
My path to Purdue went something like this. I began studying electrical engineering as an undergraduate at the University of Colorado, Boulder, but after taking four classes in a single semester that used only 1's and 0's I decided to switch to a discipline that used the whole number line. My dad talked me into studying some Economics, and my micro principles class with 173-year old Reuben Zubrow changed my life. Writing my Economics honors thesis under the supervision of Professor Jamie Brown-Kruse got me hooked on research. I did graduate study at the University of Michigan, working primarily with Jim Levinsohn, and Alan Deardorff, but with many and much appreciated conversations with Bob Stern, Paul Courant, and Joel Slemrod. My thesis included work on testing horizontal differentiation models of trade, and examining whether costly trade in intermediate inputs could explain spatial patterns of economic development. After Michigan I spent five years as an assistant professor at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, and then came to Purdue in 2000.
In addition to teaching and formal academic research, I've enjoyed the opportunity to work as a consultant and technical advisor at the IMF, World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the OECD, and USAID. I've also been a visiting scholar at Stanford, the IMF, the Minneapolis Fed, and the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
I've been married to Tanya since 1990 and we have three amazing kids: Emily, Alex, and Abby. I'd list their ages, but that seems to change every time I turn around.