A West Virginia Wesleyan economics faculty member and a 2019 WVWC graduate’s paper has been accepted for publication in the International Economics and Economy Policy Journal. “The Effects of Trade Deficit on Output and Employment: Evidence from the U.S.’s Economy,” was co-authored by Dr. Tuan Le, assistant professor of economics, and William Baker, a 2019 magna cum laude graduate in accounting, computer information science, and economics.

The double-blind peer reviewed International Economics and Economic Policy Journal focuses on contributions that are relevant to economic policy, publishing both theoretical and empirical papers.  In particular, the journal focuses on comparative economic policy; international political economy, including international organizations and policy cooperation; monetary and real/technological dynamics in open economies; globalization and regional integration; trade migration, international investment; internet commerce; and regulation.

The journal features contributions from the economic policy community and serves as a forum for dialogue and exchange between academics and policymakers.

“Will and I discussed the topic for our paper when he was enrolled in my International Economics course during the 2018 fall semester,” noted Le.  “In the spring of 2019, we began to work seriously on the project.  He wanted to develop his paper for his senior economic thesis, which is the capstone course for economics majors.  I was both Will’s thesis and academic advisor.  We enjoyed working together and spent countless hours discussing the idea, collecting date, and running statistical analysis, which led to writing the actual paper.”

“We had serious discussions and often disagreed, but we always had fun,” Le continued.  “Will earned an “A” for the paper and we sent it out for review.  It took eight months to hear replies from peer-reviewers and they suggested we make several major revisions before re-considering it. Will and I worked remotely and developed more sophisticated econometric models for the revision. We sent it back to the editors and they accepted it for publication.”

“This project helped me prepare for the workload of graduate school, especially since I had multiple senior projects that I was working on at the same time during my last semester at Wesleyan,” stated Baker. “I am grateful to Dr. Le for his encouragement and willingness to work together on this paper.”

Le earned his Ph.D. in economics and M.S. in finance from West Virginia University.  He received his B.S. in business administration from Foreign Trade University in Hanoi.  He has taught economics and finance at Foreign Trade University and at Washington and Jefferson College.  He joined Wesleyan’s faculty in 2015. A member of the American Economic Association, Le has authored and co-authored five papers, three with students.  Three of his papers were published and two are currently under review.

Baker, a native of Grantsville, is currently pursuing a master’s degree in accounting at the College of William & Mary.  He has accepted a position with Ernst & Young in their Assurance Services and Practice and hopes to begin this summer or fall.