Professor Whaples

Education: I graduated from the University of Maryland in 1983 with B.A.'s in Economics and History, and earned a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1990. My dissertation, "The Shortening of the American Work Week: An Economic and Historical Analysis," won the Allen Nevins Prize from the Economic History Association.
Research and Publications: I have edited two books. Historical Perspectives on the American Economy (with Dianne Betts, 1995) and Public Choice Interpretations of American Economic History (with Jac Heckelman and John Moorhouse, 1999). I am the author (with Charles Mason) of the Study Guide to Jeffrey Perloff's Microeconomics. My research focuses on the history of labor markets, with emphasis on the length of the work week, aging, and discrimination. Several of my papers explore consensus among economic historians and economists. My most recent paper argues that the U.S. Mint should stop producing pennies.
EH.Net: I am Director and Book Review Editor for EH.Net, which provides electronic services for economic historians. I also edit EH.Net's Encyclopedia of Economic and Business History.
Teaching: I regularly teach Introduction to Economics, Current Economic Issues, and American Economic Development. In 1999 the Economic History Association awarded me the Jonathan Hughes Prize for Excellence in Teaching Economic History (here is a copy of my acceptance comments).
Family: My wife, Regina, and I are the parents of two sons and three daughters.
Other: I am chair of Wake Forest University's Department of Economics and coach of the Wake Forest quizbowl team.

Fall 2006 Courses:

Econ 150: Introduction to Economics
Econ 270: Current Economic Issues

Robert Whaples

Professor of Economics

Wake Forest University

Fall 2006 Courses:

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