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Darla Moore School of Business

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    South Carolina Economic Policy Center

Center Faculty

Philip Brookins

Philip Brookins is an associate professor in the Department of Economics at the Darla Moore School of Business. His research involves the use of game-theoretic techniques to model and characterize behavior in competitive settings, such as contests and tournaments, and the use of experimental methods to test the validity of such models. In particular, he examines how individuals and groups behave in contests when they are information-constrained, e.g., not fully informed as to the number of competitors and/or their characteristics, as well as how they behave when competing as part of a team composed of heterogeneously talented members. Philip joined the University of South Carolina in 2019 after completing a postdoctoral research position at the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods (Bonn, Germany). He has a doctoral, master’s, and bachelor’s degree in economics and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Florida State University. In addition to his position at USC, Philip was a visiting fellow at the Laboratory for Innovation Science at Harvard, where he explored the optimal design of innovation tournaments.  When not working on contest and tournament design, Dr. Brookins enjoys sci-fi and carnivorous plants. 

Geoffrey Carr

Dr. Carr holds B.S. degrees in Economics and Mathematics from the University of Wyoming and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Virginia writing a dissertation entitled “Macro Labor Dynamics: Aggregation and Insurance.” His primary research interests center on macroeconomics, computational economics, and labor economics. Dr. Carr’s publications and current papers have been on productivity shocks in the labor market and the effect of unemployment insurance and COVID-19.

Sarah Carrol

Dr. Carrol holds a B.Sc. in Economics from Philipps-Univeristy of Marburg, Germany; a M.S. in Economics from Justus-Liebig-University of Giessen, Germany; and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her research focuses on international trade, finance, and the interplay between the two. Her current work analyzes the effects of international trade credits on industry performance. Publications and working papers have included the topics of international trade credit for industry development and the impact of international trade credit on investment volatility.

Bentley Coffey

Dr. Coffey holds a B.S. in Computer Science, a B.A. in Economic Theory and International Studies, and an M.S. in Environmental Science from American University and a Ph.D. in Economics from Duke University. His research focuses on environmental economics and labor economics. Publications have included work on wealth inequality’s effects on entrepreneurship, environmental financial liability, and the increase of utility of cash in hand. Dr. Coffey has prior economic consulting experience at The Cadmus Group, Inc. doing environmental and policy analysis for the EPA and investor-owned utilities. He also has worked as an independently contracted consultant providing expert analysis on anti-trust cases and environmental impact statements. 

John Gordanier

Dr. Gordanier holds B.S. degrees in Economics and Statistics from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His research interests are in personnel economics, labor economics, and industrial organization. Publication and works have included studies on food stamp effects, free lunch programs, technology licensing, and law firm structures. He is currently a member of the advisory panel for the Law Firm's Working Group, a cross-disciplinary group of researchers studying empirical aspects of law firms.

Joshua Hess

Dr. Hess holds a B.S. in Mathematics, a B.S. in Physics, and an M.S. in Physics from the University of Arkansas and an M.A. and Ph.D in economics from Colorado State University. His research interests include public policy, cannabis policy, and analysis of risky decision-making. Publications have included work on the impacts of marijuana legalization in Colorado and the social and political dynamics around hydraulic fracturing.  Dr. Hess is also an avid fan of board games and can frequently be found at various board game conventions in the area. 

Tamara Sheldon

Dr. Sheldon holds a B.S. in Environmental Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California, San Diego. Her research focuses on environmental and energy economics and how these fields interact with public policy. Publications have included work on electric vehicle subsidies, the effect of natural disasters on migration, and the effects of public policy and business cycles on carbon emissions. Dr. Sheldon has worked as a principal investigator for a National Academy of Science Gulf Research Program Grant and as a senior researcher for the California Air Resources Board (CARB).  When not working, Dr. Sheldon enjoys bike tours through Europe and competing in Ironman Triathlons.  

Stephen Slice

 Stephen Slice holds a B.S. in Animal Science and an M.S. in Applied Economics from Clemson University and an M.B.A from the University of South Carolina. Before his work as a Lecturer, Slice spent over 30 years working as a Farm Loan Specialist for the Farm Service Agency (FSA) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. As a Farm Loan Specialist, Slice interpreted and implemented policy regarding the administration of a statewide loan portfolio of over $300 million and restructured more than $250 million in debt for financially distressed farmers. Slice also led research and projection of future crop prices and monitored economic trends in agriculture to help guide loan policy. In addition, Professor Slice has served on several agricultural advisory boards, councils, and collaborative committees — Clemson’s State Extension Advisory Council, the South Carolina New and Beginning Farmer Program Advisory Council, South Carolina Food Policy Council, and the Midlands Local Food Collaborative. When not working Professor Slice is the department’s go-to expert on all things barbeque related and spends his free time playing the dobro for Saluda River Band. 

Douglas Woodward

 Dr. Woodward holds a B.A. in Economics from SUNY at Purchase, an M.A. in Economics from New York University, and a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin. His primary research interests are regional economics, firm location, urban and industrial clustering, and foreign direct investment. He has written multiple books on foreign direct investment, including The New Competitors, which was featured by both Business Week and Fortune. Over his career, Woodward has received numerous grants from the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, and many other funding agencies. He has testified before local, state, and national government committees and presented his research at numerous conferences, including as a World Economic Forum Fellow in Davos, Switzerland. 

Yi (Crystal) Zhan

 Dr. Zhan holds a B.A. in Finance and a B.S. in Computer Science from Peking University and a Ph.D in Economics from the University of California, San Diego.  labor economics, the economics of education, and applied econometrics. Her work particularly addresses topics related to immigration and ethnic disparities. Dr. Zhan is fluent in both English and Chinese.

 

 

 

 

 

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