Department of Economics

The objectives of the department are to provide students with a fundamental understanding of our present day economic system; to prepare students for immediate entry into professional careers in the business, banking and finance, and governmental communities; to prepare students for graduate school, especially in economics, business administration, and law; and to prepare students for teaching in the social science areas of the secondary school system.

Majors and Minors

Careers

A degree in economics prepares a student for a career as an economist, and for positions in traditional business, government, financial business, law, consulting business, university teacher, and public/private school teacher.

Campus Organizations and Activities

  • Economics Society
  • Hunger Coalition (history)

Faculty

Dr. David Harris, Professor and Chair

Dr. Richard Coronado, Professor

Dr. James Young, Associate Professor

Contact Information

For more information, please email Dr. David Harris or call 913-360-7456.

Recent Papers Written, Delivered, or Published

“The False God of Capitalist Liberalism in Catholic Social Thought” - Published by Dr. Richard Coronado in Church Life Journal in May of 2022.

Dr. Coronado presented a paper on the economic thought of Pope Francis in Laduato Si at the spring, 2017 Benedictine College Evangelization conference. The paper was published by the Church Life journal at Notre Dame University in the fall of 2018. The article is entitled: “A Theological Critique of Economic Modernity’s Myths.”

“Open Letter in Reply to U.S. Representative Paul Ryan's Commencement Address at 2013 Benedictine College Graduation Ceremony” - by Dr. Richard Coronado.

“The Need for Gratuity in Economics:  A Close Look at Caritas in Veritate” - by Dr. Richard J. Coronado, in Catholic Social Teaching and Economics: Proceedings from the 34th Annual Convention of the Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, ed. Elizabeth C. Shaw (Notre Dame, Ind.: Fellowship of Catholic Scholars, 2012), 85-110.

“A Selective, Contemporary Book Review of The Wealth of Nations: More Than Two Centuries Later”  by Dr. David Harris, published in The Journal of International Business, Fall 2010.

“Centesimus Annus and Key Elements of John Paul II’s Political Economy”  - by Dr. Richard Coronado, presented at the Missouri Valley Economics Association meeting in Kansas City, Mo., on October 22, 2009.  (Edited for the Web in June, 2010.)

Dr. Richard Coronado's Distinguished Educator of the Year Address - April 25, 2012
 

Studying Economics and Philosophy at Benedictine College

I am grateful and fortunate to have studied economics at Benedictine College. In addition to learning the fundamental theories that are essential to a degree in economics, my education has been informed by a Christian perspective. In the first year or two of undergraduate study, I leaned strongly toward a free market, Chicago-school bias. I subscribed to the general belief that anyone can prosper if they just work hard enough. I worked hard and I thought that I should be able to reap the resulting rewards. It was unjust, I believed, for anyone to interfere with my right to the material benefits of my work. I believed that a situation in which everyone pursues his or her self-interest will produce prosperity for all members of society.

Gradually, with the help of thoughtful questions and discussions in classes, I became aware that my perspective was focused only on one aspect of the person. The recurrent themes of my beliefs were autonomy, individualism and self-interest. Rather than seeing society as a community of human persons, my image had been distorted into that of a group of material bodies. Professors Coronado and Harris teach economics from a Christian perspective, that is, with constant recognition of the dignity of every human being. Studying under them has led me to reconsider the way that economics fits into the. ultimate end of human existence. In addition to focusing on maximizing utility, efficiency or material living standards, we must consider the effects of economic activity on human beings as persons. For human beings are more than material individuals, more than modes of production and consumption. There is an immaterial, eternal aspect of the person that demands respect, rights and even love. The economics department and philosophy departments at Benedictine College were instrumental in bringing this truth to light, and has thus enriched my view of economics with a more complete view of the human person in the Imago Dei.

Chris Meyer 2006

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