Professor

About

  • Office Hours

    by appointment

  • Role

    Faculty

  • Position

    • Professor
    • Director of Graduate Studies

  • Concentration

    • Applied Microeconomics

  • Department

    • Economics and Regional Economic Development Institute

  • Education

    • PhD, Stanford University

Biography

Dr. Anita Alves Pena is a Professor of Economics at Colorado State University.  She also holds a courtesy faculty appointment with the Colorado School of Public Health and affiliation as a research associate with the Regional Economic Development Institute (REDI@CSU).  She currently serves as the Agricultural Economics Advisor for the High Plains Intermountain Center for Agricultural Health and Safety (HICAHS).  Dr. Pena received her Ph.D. in Economics from Stanford University in 2007, M.A. in Economics from Stanford University in 2004, and B.A. in Economics from the Johns Hopkins University in 2001. Her research interests are in public sector economics, labor economics, and economic development and her current research relates to undocumented and documented immigration, public policy, poverty, education/skill, and agricultural labor markets including applications to public and occupational health.  She teaches Microeconomic Theory, Public Economics, and Microeconomics of Development at the graduate level, as well as undergraduate Principles of Microeconomics, Intermediate Microeconomics, Introduction to Econometrics, Economics of Public Finance, Development Economics, and a Senior Seminar on Local Economic Policy/Cost-Benefit Analysis.

Teaching Philosophy:

My teaching philosophy has revolved around the idea that the art in teaching economics lies in the ability to relate the subject to the experiences of students. Teaching students why economics matters to their lives changes their understanding of the world around them. My view is that this not only ensures a next generation of economists to extend the field, but also can result in positive externalities such as changes in students' compassion for the poor, ethics in business, and personal responsibility for household finances. The best economics classes therefore in my opinion elucidate supply and demand relationships and engage students mathematically, analytically, intuitively, and verbally while encouraging informed citizenship and decision-making. This is relevant at the undergraduate and graduate (through Ph.D.) levels.

Publications

Journal Articles: