Eastern Michigan University Department of Economics

🎉 Join us in celebrating our outstanding EMU Economics graduates! 🎓✨
We are incredibly proud of Sofia Bermudez, David (Max) Butler, Marius Martello, and Chloe Grodi for graduating with honors this Winter 2026. Your hard work, dedication, and academic excellence have truly paid off!

If you are on campus, come cheer them on at the Honors College Graduation Ceremony:
📅 Friday, May 1
🕥 10:30 AM
📍 Pease Auditorium

Congratulations to our amazing seniors! We can't wait to see what you accomplish next. 🦅💚

Join us in congratulating Dr. Christopher Elias and Dr. Amanda Stype from the EMU Economics Department on being recognized at this year’s Thank-An-Eagle celebration! 🦅 This award honors incredible mentors who have made a lasting, positive impact on our students and the EMU community. We are so proud of your dedication to student success!

Celebrating our brilliant students at this year’s Economics Department Award Ceremony! 🏆✨ It was a wonderful evening celebrating academic excellence, awarding well-deserved scholarships, and connecting our bright scholars with our dedicated faculty.

Congratulations to all our awardees—we can’t wait to see how you shape the future of economics! 📈💼

Celebrating our incredible Economics students at the 46th annual Undergraduate Symposium! 📊✨ This event showcases the demanding, original research our undergrads produce, proving they have the critical skills to tackle complex, real-world questions. Huge shoutout to these top-notch presentations:

🔹 Khongorzul Tseesuren: Do Stronger A.I. Ecosystems Spur Entrepreneurship?
🔹 Daniel Obiagbaoso: The Shield as a Cartel: An Analysis of the NFL’s Governance
🔹 Autumn McGee: Deregulatory Revolution or Business as Usual?
🔹 TaMeka Lawrence: The Reality of Accessing Public Assistance in Michigan
🔹 Marius Martello: Combatting Planned Obsolescence & Michigan’s Adoption Subsidy Reform
🔹 Mariah Van Fleet: Educational Improvement from the MS Literacy-Based Promotion Act

Celebrating our outstanding students, alumni, and faculty at the Midwest Economics Association (MEA) Conference in Chicago! 📊🦅

It was a fantastic joint trip combining the dedication of the EMU Fed Challenge team (advised by Matthew Schaffer) and the EMU Economics Club (advised by Jenni Putz). Seeing our Eastern Michigan University community present such high-caliber, diverse research on a regional stage is always a proud moment for the department.

🎓 Undergraduate Paper Competition Presenters:

• Marius Martello – "The Impact of Michigan's Public Act 308 on Foster Care Outcomes: A Synthetic Control Analysis"

• Mariah Van Fleet (co-authored with Caleb Mathison) – "Long Run Educational Improvement from the Mississippi Literacy-Based Promotion Act"

🌟 Alumni Spotlight:

• Caleb Mathison – "Liquidity Exposure and Deposit Flight: Evidence from the 2023 Regional Bank Crisis"

👩‍🏫 Faculty Presenters:

• Jenni Putz – "Leading out of darkness or into the shadows? Uncovering the impact of populist rule of the shadow economy"

• Amanda Stype – "Cigarette Taxation and the Current State of Youth Price Sensitivities"

Congratulations to everyone who presented and represented EMU so brilliantly!

We are incredibly proud to announce that our colleague, Dr. Jenni Putz, has been honored with the prestigious Ronald Collins Teaching Award! 🏆 This university-wide recognition highlights her extraordinary commitment to student success and innovative teaching here in the Economics Department. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Putz on this well-deserved achievement!

So incredibly proud to watch Rowan present his research at the Graduate Research and Creative Activity Conference! 👏📊
His paper takes a fascinating look at how the global structure of international trade networks relates to real economic output. He found that when it comes to a country's macroeconomic performance, the actual structure and robustness of its trade network matter just as much as overall trade volume in many regions of the world. Such a great job! 🦅💚

Such an inspiring time at the EMU Economics Club alumni career panel! A huge thank you to Svetlana Beilfuss, Zachary Lovely, and Antoni Wroblewski for sharing their incredible career journeys and insights with our students.

Big congratulations to Professor James Saunoris and Economics major Khongorzul Tseesuren! 🦅📈

They were recently honored with the Entrepreneurship Research Award from the Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation for their project, "Do Stronger AI Ecosystems Spur Entrepreneurship? Cross-Country Evidence."

This student-faculty collaboration highlights the type of high-level research happening right here in our department. We’re incredibly proud of the hard work they’ve put into exploring the link between AI and global business growth.

Save the dates: ✅ Friday, March 27, 2026: Khongorzul presents at the Undergraduate Symposium. ✅ Next Year: Professor Saunoris presents at the Entrepreneurship Colloquium.

Calling all EMU Students! 📢🦅

The EMU Economics Club is hosting its Winter 2026 Opening Meeting, and we want you there!

This is a fantastic opportunity to:
✅ Meet and network with other students.
✅ Learn about our upcoming trip to the Midwest Economics Association conference in Chicago.
✅ Enjoy some free pizza and snacks on us!

Whether you are looking for career connections or just a great group of people to study with, stop by and say hello.