Oskar Harmon

Associate Professor

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Office Hour Appointment
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Subject Areas: Economic Education, Information Technology, Economics of Sports, State and Local Public Finance

Professor Harmon is associate professor of economics at the University since 1994.  His current research interests are developing teaching innovations and measuring their effect on learning outcomes, and determinants of the duration of state business cycles.    He served as a member of the American Economic Association Committee on Economic Education (2018-21), as a chair of  program committee of the annual national Conference on Teaching and Research in Economic Education (CTREE,  2019-2020), as chair of the Committee on the Economic Status of the Profession, for the American Association of University Professors (AAUP, 2017-20) , and is Treasurer of the  Uconn Chapter of the AAUP (2019-p).  He is past manager of the Uconn Stamford FED Challenge Team (2016-19) and organizer of the annual Stamford Alumni Career Networking Panel (2016-19).  He has contributed to development of the UConn Master of Science in Quantitative Economics (MSQE) program since 2017.

He has been a leader in development of online course design at UConn.  He offered the first course of Principles of Economics in online format at the University in 2004.   He is a recipient of the 2021 University Teaching Fellow Award, the 2012 Grillo Outstanding Teacher Award in the UConn Economics Department, and the 2000 University of Connecticut Chancellor’s Information Technology Award

Education:
Ph.D., Economics, Rutgers University
M.A., Economics, Rutgers University
B.A. Economics, Clark University

Honors and Appointments:
— 2021 University Teaching Fellow Award, UConn Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL)
— 2018 American Economic Association, Committee on Economic Education
— 2018 American Association of University Professors, Committee on the Economic Status of the Profession
— 2018 Commendation Letters for Excellence in Teaching from the Office of the Provost, UConn (multiple years)
— 2015 Service Learning Fellow, Uconn Institute of Teaching and Learning
— 2012 Grillo Family Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching
— 2000 University of Connecticut Chancellor’s Information Technology Award
— 1998 Neato.com CD Design Award
— 1979 Dissertation Research Award, Rutgers University
— 1975 University Scholar, New York University

Courses Taught:
— Economics of Sports
— Information Technology for Economics
— Empirical Methods in Economics I
— Principles of Microeconomics Online
— Contemporary Problems in Economics
— Principles of Economics (Intensive) Online
— Public Finance
— Principles of Macroeconomics Online
— Empirical Methods in Economics I

Research Interests: Online Instruction, Sports Economics, State Business Cycles

Selected Publications

“Learning Tableau- A Data Visualization Tool”, 2020,  Journal of Economic Education, Volume 51, Issue 3-4. (with S. Batt, T. Grealis, and P. Tomolonis)

“Social Media as an Online Course Discussion Forum – Engagement and Results of a Randomized Trial” 2019, International Review of Economic Education, 30, January (with P. Tomolonis)

“Use Google Drawings to Create Homework Exercises and Essays with Graphs”, 2018, Journal of Economics & Teaching,  2(2), 68-78 (with R.Szarka)

“A Randomized Assessment of Online Learning”, 2016, American Economic Review, 106(5), 378-302  (with W. Alpert; K. Couch)

“Are Online Exams an Invitation to Cheat?,”  2008, The Journal of Economic Education 39(2) (with J. Lambrinos).

“AMT: How and Why to Reform,” 2001, Tax Notes, 91(4), 667-671.

“The Optimal State Tax Portfolio Modei: An Extension”  1994, National Tax Journal, 47, 2, 395-402: (with R. Mallick).

“A New View of the Incidence of the Property Tax,” 1989, Public Finance Review 17(3), 323-348.

“The Income Elasticity of Demand for Single-Family Owner-Occupied Housing: An Empirical Reconciliation,” 1988, Journal of Urban Economics, 24(2), 173-185.