Ryan D. Edwards

Associate Professor of Economics



Courses at:


Teaching

Undergraduate economics at Queens College, CUNY

Economics 201: Macroeconomic Analysis

The Census Bureau announced that there were 308,745,538 people residing in the U.S. on April 1, 2010, about twice as many as were living in this country in 1950. We study macroeconomics because we are interested in the well-being of these many individuals and of the rest of the world's 7.1 billion people spread across 192 countries, each with its own economy. While microeconomics provides us with tools to understand decision-making and welfare among individuals and smaller groups, macroeconomics supplies concise but realistic models to assess well-being and economic behavior within much larger groups of individuals.

(Previously numbered Econ 206)

Syllabus, Spring 2014

Economics 208: The Process of Economic Development

We are a nation of over 316 million people now, more than twice our size in 1950. The world as a whole is home to roughly 7 billion people, or about twice the number living in 1970. In contrast, average income in the U.S. is almost $50,000 per year but only about $10,000 across the world as a whole. What are the factors that influence growth in population and economic well-being, and what are the prospects for future growth and development? These are big questions, and in this course we will explore how economists answer them. Along the way, we will examine the microeconomic behavior of individuals: how do people choose to work or retire, save or consume, marry, reproduce, and immigrate? What are the implications of these behaviors for markets, for policy, and for society?

(Previously taught as BUS 383)

Syllabus, Fall 2013

Economics 215: Money and Banking

Events of the past several years have revealed how financial markets are a very important part of the U.S. economy. The collapse of Bear Stearns in Spring 2008, of Lehman Brothers later that fall, and the subsequent bailout of A.I.G. were hallmarks of the global financial meltdown that many economists believe was ultimately responsible for the Great Recession of 2008. What comprises financial markets? What do they do and why do we need them? If we need them, how can we work to prevent what just happened from happening again? And on a more personal level, how can you make money using your knowledge of financial markets after graduating from Queens College with a degree in accounting or economics?

Syllabus, Fall 2010

Ph.D. economics at the CUNY Graduate Center

Economics 71100: Macroeconomic Analysis

The main goal of this course is for students to acquire analytical skills required to solve problems in macroeconomics. Acquisition of these skills is a key first step in mastering the material covered in the macroeconomics and monetary economics field courses offered by the program, and these skills also are relevant for field courses in applied microeconomics and in financial economics. Finally, these skills also play a key role in selecting important topics to research in a dissertation and in successfully completing that research.

Syllabus, Fall 2009