First and foremost, I am an aspiring follower of Jesus Christ with a delightful family.  After that, I am an economics professor at the University of South Dakota, where you can see my profile page.  Here you can find my research and the classes I've taught, or you can see my Substack, Analysis at Altitude, for broader analysis of the topics I find interesting.

My scholarly philosophy breaks down into a few parts:

1) Put first things first.  The discovery of truth - including scientific truth - is pleasing to God.  That truth should be useful, not trivial.

2) Learn from and understand those who think differently than I do.

3) Link the research question to the big picture, and don't focus on small questions.

4) Find solutions for problems, not problems for solutions, and push the boundaries of conventional thought.

​Prior to the University of South Dakota, I was on the faculty at Methodist University in Fayetteville, North Carolina, a visiting faculty member at Kennesaw State University near Atlanta, Georgia, and a research scholar at The Sunwater Institute in North Bethesda, Maryland.  I earned my Ph.D. at Florida State University, studying under Dr. Randall Holcombe.  Prior to graduate school, I earned an undergraduate degree in economics and Russian at Wake Forest University and served as a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Russian Far East.