Professor

James Bang, PhD

I am a Professor of Economics at Saint Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa and a Fellow with the Global Labor Organization. I have taught a wide range of courses in 20 years of experience, including principles courses, intermediate microeconomics, econometrics, international trade, development, institutions, labor, and managerial economics, including courses at the graduate level.
My research focuses on using traditional econometric methods and machine learning to study the impact of institutions on outcomes related to economic development, migration, gender equality, and health. He has nearly 40 publications, including about 30 refereed journal articles, three books in the area of machine learning, and one on the economics of remittances.

Contact Us

Contact James Bang for information on Economics

McMullen Hall 124A

563-333-6102

BangJamesT@sau.edu

Education and Training

PhD, MS, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Economics
BA, BS, Truman State University, Economics

Areas of Professional Interest

Immigration
Institutional Economics
Economics of Conflict
Development Economics

Recent Publications

Weiss ME, Yakusheva O, Bobay KL, Costa L, Hughes RG, Nuccio S, Hamilton M, Bahr S, Siclovan D, Bang, JT (2019). Effect of Implementing Discharge Readiness Assessment in Adult Medical-Surgical Units on 30-Day Return to Hospital: The READI Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Netw Open. 2(1):e187387. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.7387
Bang, J. T., Mitra, A., & Wunnava, P. V. (2016). Do remittances improve income inequality? An instrumental variable quantile analysis of the Kenyan case. Economic Modelling, 58, 394-402.
Bang, J.T. & Mitra, A (2016). "Institutions, information, and commitment: the role of democracy in conflict." Defence and Peace Economics. February. p 1-23.
Biswas, A., O'Reilly, C., Bang, J.T., and Mitra A. (2016). Civil war and economic growth: the case for a closer look at forms of mobilization. Applied Economics Letters. 23(15). p. 1057-1061.
Mitra, A., Bang, J.T., & Biswas, A. (2015). Media freedom and gender inequality: a cross-national instrumental variable quantile analysis. Applied Economics. 47(22). p. 2278-2292.
Mitra, A, Bang, J.T. & Biswas, A. (2015). Gender, governance, & growth: is access or opportunity more important? Feminist Economics. 21(1): 110-35.
Mitra, A., Bang, J.T., & Wunnava, P.V. (2014). Financial Liberalization and the Selection of Emigrants: A Cross-national Analysis. Emperical Economics, 47(1), 199-226.
Bang, James T. and Bharati Basu (2013). Insurance and Remittances: New Evidence from Latin American Immigrants to the US. Migration Letters. Vol. 10(3), p. 383-398.
Bang, James T. and Mitra, A. (2013). Civil War, Ethnicity, and the Migration of Skilled Labor. Eastern Economic Journal, 39, 387-401.
Basuchoudhary, Atin, Bang, James T., Sen, Tinni, David, John (2018). Predicting Hotspots: Using Machine Learning to Understand Civil Conflict. Rowman & Littlefield.
Basuchoudhary, Atin, Bang, James T., Sen, Tinni (2017). Machine-learning Techniques in Economics: New Tools for Predicting Economic Growth. SpringerBriefs in Economics.

Courses Taught

Principles of Macroeconomics

Introduction to national income accounting, income determination, unemployment, inflation and monetary fiscal policy problems of business cycles and economic growth.

Principles of Microeconomics

Introduction to economic theories for real-world business and public policy decisions.

Economic Analysis of Institutions

The economic analysis of institutions studies the ways in which institutions (such as markets, firms, governments, and cultural norms) form, shape decisions of economic and political agents, enforce agreements between individuals, and influence economic performance in society. Topics include transactions costs, property rights, theory of the firm, contracting mechanisms, and positive theories of democratic choice.

International Trade

International trade theory studies the effects of international trade on domestic national welfare and income distribution, and the effects of government intervention in trade on domestic and global welfare. Topics may include sources of comparative advantage; effects of trade on wages and returns to capital; international factor movements (immigration and FDI); the effects of trade restrictions; the effects of export subsidies and strategic trade policy; trade agreements; and the effects of trade on contemporary social issues (e.g. labor rights, the environment, discrimination.

Economics for Business and Public Policy

Empirical application of economic analysis to real-world business and public policy problems.

Intermediate Microeconomics

Emphasizes economic efficieny, focusing attention on resource pricing, employment, how prices function so as to allocate resources among competing alternatives, and evaluating and criticizing economic controls of government over prices and production.

Econometrics

Learn techniques to measure and analyze economic phenomena and to predict future economic trends. Econometrics attempts to quantify economic reality and bridge the gap between the abstract world of economic theory and the world of human activity. Examine data and quantify the actions of firms, consumers, and governments.

Labor Economics

Labor economics studies the tools for analyzing labor market decisions by households and firms, and government policies. Topics may include labor supply and demand; labor market imperfections and failures; unemployment; discrimination; international and domestic migration; unions; the minimum wage; the welfare and welfare reform, including the universal basic income; or wage subsidies including the earned-income tax credit.

Public Economics

Empirical application of economic analysis to real-world business and public policy problems.

Development Economics

Studies the challenges in achieving equitable and sustainable economic development in low- and middle-income countries. Topics may include: poverty and income inequality; population growth; economic growth; market, political, legal, and cultural institutions; credit markets; health care; education and human capital; infrastructure; land and property rights; civil war and conflict; and ethnic and gender discrimination.

Senior Seminar

Involves directed research by the student in economics, leading to completion of a senior thesis in economics requiring the application of the scientific method to individual behavior under scarcity. Students select a topic related to either the study of econometrics or macroeconomics or microeconomics and are expected to (1) explore their topic with full rigor, (2) collaborate with students studying other topics, and (3) demonstrate the relevance of their finding to economics and society as a whole.