Meet DePaul’s New Economics Chair, Anthony Krautmann

Anthony Krautmann has been teaching economics at DePaul for over thirty years, but now has a new role at the Kellstadt School of Business — Department of Economics chair. In addition to teaching, the sports economics and microeconomics expert will be responsible for leading the department and for promoting teaching excellence, research and service.

Krautmann recently discussed his interest in economics, his goals for the department and why it’s a great time to be an economics student in a Q&A post on the school’s website. Here are a few excerpts from that post. You can read the complete interview here.

Krautmann was asked why he chose to become an economics professor:

“When I was an undergraduate student at the University of Iowa, I had a hard time selecting a field of study. I took an economics class and while most of my friends struggled, I performed well and was genuinely interested in the subject matter. I liked the idea of using numbers and deductive reasoning in a combination of liberal arts, social sciences and basic sciences. I continued taking economics courses and when I earned my undergraduate degree during the biggest recession since the Great Depression, I decided to further my education.”

Krautmann was then asked about his research:

“After teaching at DePaul for a few years, I noticed a new field that was suddenly taking off. Sports economics combined both my professional and personal interests. Along with several other sports economists, I helped form a sports economics association, I also published dozens of papers on this topic. What makes sports economics interesting to the general public is the labor markets and salaries of players — like how somebody can be worth $300 million — or, how players migrate from team to team, how sports leagues behave and what effect winning games has on the economics. It is an oddly fascinating type of economic entity.”

He was also asked why now is a good time to study economics at DePaul:

“Whether students are in the undergraduate, MBA or Master of Science in Economic Policy Analysis (MSEPA) programs, our students are prepared for a career in consulting, all levels of government, non-for-profit organizations and business. Our curriculum emphasizes theory and application, and students learn how to analyze data, how to critically evaluate policies, and how to write clearly about their conclusions and their research. When students have taken all the required economics classes, they are in pretty good shape for the job market.”

regions: Chicago

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