My publications explore economic literacy, teaching practices, and monetary policy—always with a focus on making complex ideas clear and useful for students, educators, and the public.
Working Papers
“A Literacy-Targeted Approach to Teaching Decision-making Using the PACED Model,” (with Andrea Caceres-Santamaria)
“A Literacy-Targeted Approach to Teaching Monetary Policy” (with Avi J. Cohen)
"The Importance of Teaching Disinflation and Deflation: Disinflation is still inflation," (with Mary Clare Peate)
"Using the National Content Standards in Economics as a Content Guide for Literacy-Targeted Teaching" (with Bonnie Mezaros)
"Modernizing the Inflation Auction: Teaching Inflation in the Ample-Reserves Era" (with Mary Clare Peate)
Selected Publications in Peer-Reviewed Journals
“The Fed, Inflation, and Disinflation” Social Education, National Council for the Social Studies, 2025, 89(2), 278-82. (with Mary Clare Peate)
“Introduction to JEE Symposium on ‘What Should Go Into the Only Economics Course Students Will Ever Take?’” (with A. Cohen and W. Stock), Journal of Economic Education, 2024, 55(2), 107-109.
“Curriculum Lag Challenges and Strategies for LT Principles: Lessons from Closing the Monetary Policy Curriculum Gap,” Journal of Economic Education, 55:2, p. 166-177, 2024. (with Jane Ihrig and Mary Clare Peate)
“Cognitive Science Teaching Strategies and Literary-Targeted Economics Complementaries,” Journal of Economic Education, 55:2, p. 156-165, 2024. (with B. Goffe)
“Teaching Monetary Policy with Ample Reserves.” Journal of Economics Teaching, 8(2), 114-127, 2023. (with Jane Ihrig)
“Monetary Policy Yesterday, Today, and Beyond,” Social Education, National Council for the Social Studies, 2023, 87(2), 83-87. (with Jane Ihrig)
“Let’s close the gap: Updating the textbook treatment of monetary policy,” Journal of Economic Education, 53:3, p. 232-249, 2022. (with J. Ihrig)
“How are Banks and the Fed Linked? Teaching Key Concepts Today,” Review of Political Economy, March 2022. (with J. Ihrig and G. Weinbach)
"Closing the Curriculum Gap by Updating Content Standards and Guidelines for Teaching Monetary Policy," The American Economist, 2022. (with J. Ihrig)
“The Federal Reserve’s Early Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic” Social Education, National Council for the Social Studies, 85(2), p. 78-80, 2021. (with J. Ihrig)
"The Economics of Artificial Intelligence: A Primer for Social Studies Educators," The Councilor: A Journal for the Social Studies: Vol. 81 : No. 2 , Article 3, 2020.
“Fixing the ‘Curriculum Lag’ in Economics: The new tools the Fed is using to influence the economy,” Social Education, National Council for the Social Studies, 84(2), p. 93-99, 2020. (with J. Ihrig)
“A Survey of Federal Reserve Economic Education Programs and Resources,” The Journal of Economic Education, 51:1, 68-79, 2020. (with A. Hill)
“Segmenting education content: Long-form vs. short-form online learning modules,” The American Journal of Distance Education, 33:2, 108-119, 2019. (with D. Méndez-Carbajo). DOI: 10.1080/08923647.2019.1583514
“The Economics of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics,” Social Education, National Council for the Social Studies, 83(2), pp 83-87, 2019. (with M. Schug and W. Wood)
“One small spoonful at a time: Long-form vs. Short-form Financial Education Learning Modules,” Empirical Pedagogy, 32(3/4), pp, 401-415, 2018. (with D. Méndez-Carbajo)
“The Textbook Treatment of Net Exports: Will the Uninformed Reader Understand?” Journal of Economics Teaching, 3(2), pp. 233-253, 2018.
“Federal Reserve Policy: Managing Both Sides of the Dual Mandate,” Social Education, National Council for the Social Studies, 82(2), 87-90, 2018. (with K. Kliesen)
“Yours, Mine, and the Truth: Using a Structured Minimum Wage Debate in the Economics Classroom,” The American Economist, 63 (2), pp. 245-259, 2018.
“Evaluating the Effectiveness of an Online Module for Increasing Economic Literacy,” Social Studies Research and Practice, Vol. 12 Issue: 2, pp.154-167, 2017.
“China’s Rapid Economic Rise: A New Application of an Old Recipe,” Social Education, National Council for the Social Studies, 81(2), pp 93-97, 2017. (with Y. Wen)
“Resources for Teaching Economic and Financial Literacy in Light of the Great Recession.” Social Education, National Council for the Social Studies, 79(2), 74-77, 2015. (with M. Suiter)
“Job Market Signaling: An Active Learning Approach for Teaching Education, Income, and Employment,” Social Studies Research and Practice, Vol. 9, No. 2, (Summer 2014).
“Why Didn’t China Discover the New World?,” Social Education, National Council for the Social Studies, Vol. 77, No. 2 (March / April 2013), pp 68 - 73.
“Data Literacy Contributes to Critical Thinking: FRED for the Classroom,” Social Studies Research and Practice, Vol. 7, No. 4 (Spring 2012). (with K. Cosgrove and M. Suiter)
Selected Book Chapters and Articles
“Teaching Economics Using Primary Sources,” in The Educator's Handbook for Teaching with Primary Sources, with S. Day, G. Podleski, and D. Mendez-Carbajo, 2023.
"Making Technical Adjustments: The Difference Between “Conducting” and “Implementing” Monetary Policy," Economic Synopses, No. 21, 2021. (with J. Ihrig)
“Let’s close the gap: Revising teaching materials to reflect how the Federal Reserve implements monetary policy,” Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2020-092. Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 2020. (with J. Ihrig)
“Closing the Monetary Policy Curriculum Gap: A Primer for Educators Making the Transition to Teaching the Fed's Ample-Reserves Framework," FEDS Notes, 2020-10-23. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. (with J. Ihrig)
“Would increasing the minimum wage reduce poverty?” a chapter in Teaching the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework: Part Two. Edited by S.G. Grant, J. Lee, and K. Swan. National Council for the Social Studies, 2018. (with Eva Johnston)
“Invest in Human Capital to Build a Better Future,” a chapter in Economic Literacy for Life: Today’s Lessons = Tomorrow’s Financial Stability and Success, Annual Report 2016, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 2017.
“Math and History Connections for Middle School Economics,” a chapter in Innovations in Economic Education: Promising Practices for Teachers and Students K-16. Edited by M.B. Henning. Published by Routledge, 2016. (with Sara Barnett)
“Why Do We Call it The ‘Great’ Depression?” a chapter in Teaching the C3 Framework: A Guide to Inquiry-Based Instruction in the Social Studies. Edited by Kathy Swan and John Lee. Published by the National Council for the Social Studies, 2014. (with M. Suiter and B. Flowers)
Selected Page One Economics
“When the Unexpected Happens, Be Ready with an Emergency Fund,” September 2025.
“The Market for Eggs: How Prices are Hatched,” May 2025.
“AI and the Future of Work: Opportunity or Threat?” December 2024.
“Marginal Product of Labor and US Westward Expansion” September 2024. (with M. Kaiman and G. Vandenbrouke)
“How Does the Gig Economy Support Entrepreneurship?” April 2024.
“Is college still worth the high price? Weighing costs and benefits of investing in human capital” September 2023. (with G. Vandenbrouke and C. Tucker)
The Rise (and Fall) of Inflation During the Early 2020s” August 2023. (with J. Ihrig and K. Kliesen)
“All About the Business Cycle: Where Do Recessions Come From?” March 2023.
“How Federal Reserve Bank Presidents Ensure “Main Street” is Represented in Monetary Policy,” November 2022.
"How Does the Fed Use Its Monetary Policy Tools to Influence the Economy?" March 2022. (with J. Ihrig)
"The Importance of Diverse Perspectives: Strategies for Supporting Women in Economics," Special Issue: 2022. (with A. Ackley, M. Suiter)
“Automation and the Minimum Wage,” November 2021.
“Teaching the Linkage Between Banks and the Fed: R.I.P. Money Multiplier,” September 2021.
“Inflation Expectations, the Phillips Curve, and the Fed’s Dual Mandate,” July 2021.
“Minding the Output Gap: What is the Potential GDP and Why Does it Matter?” May 2021.
“Examining the “Lump of Labor” Fallacy Using a Simple Economic Model,” November 2020.
“COVID-19’s Effects on the Economy and the Fed’s Response,” August 2020. (with J. Ihrig and G. Weinbach)
“The Fed’s New Monetary Policy Tools,” August 2020. (with J. Ihrig)
“Independence, Accountability, and the Federal Reserve System,” May 2020.
“Making Sense of the National Debt,” Page One Economics, November 2019. (with K. Frerking)
“A New Frontier: Monetary Policy with Ample Reserves,” May 2019.
“The Economics of Flying: How Competitive are the Friendly Skies?” November 2018. (with C. Backus)
“How do Imports Affect GDP?” September 2018.
“Bitcoin: Money or Financial Investment?” March 2018.
“Will Robots Take Our Jobs?” January 2018.
“Does International Trade Create Winners and Losers?” November 2017. (with A. Esenther)
“Why Are Some Countries Rich and Others Poor?,” September 2017.
“The Economics of Subsidizing Sports Stadiums,” May 2017.
“The Productivity Puzzle,” March 2017.
“Education, Income, and Wealth,” January 2017.
“International Trade: Making Sense of the Trade Deficit,” November 2016.
“International Trade: Why Do People and Nations Trade?,” November 2016.
“Why Is It So Difficult to Buy a High-Quality Used Car?,” September 2016.
“Stock Market Investing Strategies: Are You an Active or Passive Investor?,” April 2016.
“Making Sense of Unemployment Data,” February 2016.
“College: Learning the Skills to Pay the Bills?” December 2015.
“What’s in Your Market Basket? Why Your Inflation Rate Might Differ from the Average,” October 2015.
“Falling Oil Prices Create Winners and Losers,” May 2015.
“Is a Strong Dollar Better than a Weak Dollar?,” March 2015.
“Would a Gold Standard Brighten Economic Outcomes?,” January 2015.
“Smoothing the Path: Balancing Debt, Income, and Saving for the Future,” November 2014.
“Economics and the Environment,” 2014.
“The Economics of Immigration: A Story of Substitutes and Complements,” May 2014.
“Would Increasing the Minimum Wage Reduce Poverty?,” March 2014.
“The Rising Cost of College: Tuition, Financial Aid, and Price Discrimination,” January 2014.
“What are the ‘Ingredients’ for Economic Growth?” September 2013.
“GDP: Does it Measure Up?” May 2013.
“Money and Inflation: A Functional Relationship,” March 2013.
“Invest in Yourself: Applying an Investment Approach to Education Decisions,” February 2013.
“Choices are everywhere: Why can’t we just have it all?,” January 2013.