Faculty Profile

Tricia Hawks

Lecturer in Economics (2012)

Contact Information

hawkst@dickinson.edu

Althouse Hall Room 112
717-254-8801

Education

  • B.S., Pennsylvania State University, 1992
  • M.A., University of Connecticut, 1996
  • Ph.D., 2002

2023-2024 Academic Year

Fall 2023

ECON 111 Intro to Microeconomics
A study of the fundamentals of economic analysis and of basic economic institutions, with particular emphasis upon consumer demand and upon the output and pricing decisions of business firms. The implications of actions taken by these decision-makers, operating within various market structures, upon the allocation of resources and the distribution of income are examined. Special attention is given to the sociopolitical environment within which economic decisions are made.

ECON 214 Behavioral Economics
This course introduces students to the relatively new field of behavioral economics in which the ideas of psychology, sociology and, to a lesser degree, neurobiology, are reintroduced to economic models. Predictions of economic behavior are reconsidered by replacing or augmenting traditional theoretical economic assumptions with more realistic assumptions based on real-world observed behavior and experimental results. Special attention is paid to how such changes affect our theory of markets, social welfare and public policy. Topics include nudge theory, biases and heuristics, prospect theory, concepts of happiness as well as numerous forms of 'mis-behaving'.

Spring 2024

ECON 228 Economic Analysis of Policy
This course introduces the basic economic techniques used in the analysis of public policy and applies these techniques to a variety of social problems and policies. The economic techniques taught include the analysis of market failure, benefit-cost analysis, and economic impact analysis. Applied topics vary, but are likely to include education and job training, public assistance, transportation policy, and environmental protection. Prerequisite: 111 or permission of the instructor.

ECON 496 Adv Topics in Behavioral Econ
Permission of instructor required. Why do people fail to save enough for retirement, even when investment vehicles are made easily available, often through employer or government-based programs? Why do consumers make purchases that reduce utility even when superior options are accessible? Why do buyers rely on poor information yet often argue that their information is valid; and why do these same consumers make predictable mistakes in assessing risk, recognizing framing issues, avoiding the endowment effect, or allowing mental accounting to drive suboptimal behavior? In this course we will look at the chronological development of behavioral economics and read the seminal articles dealing with issues such as time-preferences, insufficient savings, risk assessment, base -rate neglect, the Ellsberg paradox and other topics. Emphasis will be on how these 'failures' of individuals to act 'economically' pose challenges to economic modeling. Each student will select one topic to explore in greater depth for a brief research paper and presentation.